2022 Open Championship: Which golfers improved their stock?

The 150th Open Championship has now come to an exciting end with Australian Cameron Smith displaying some exceptional golf to overtake Rory McIlroy for the victory.

With a much-anticipated reunion between the PGA Tour and LIV golf players, they were all tasked with battling the unique conditions at the legendary St. Andrews.

While many simply struggled to figure out the greens and stay out of the high grass, others found ways to succeed on the historic course.

Smith’s winning score of -20 at the 150th Open Championship bettered the previous best-ever finish at St. Andrews, a record which was previously held by one Tiger Woods back in 2000.

Now that the results are finalized, let’s examine which golfers helped their stock the most this week at the Open Championship.

Cameron Young

This one’s obvious, but Young burst onto the scene this week at the Open Championship by firing a first-round 64 to take an early lead.

The 25-year-old out of Wake Forest University is coming off of two straight missed cuts, but he still remains in the top-20 in FedEx Cup Standings, something which will only improve after his excellent showing this week.

In such a strong field, Young performing like this on the main stage will surely put the rest of the Tour on notice. Cameron Young can truly compete amongst the World’s best.

Kevin Kisner

It’s obvious that Kisner has not been playing his best golf lately. After finishing T-6 at the recent Travelers Championship he went on a disappointing streak of 5 straight missed cuts.

However, Kisner was fantastic this week, finishing with 3 rounds under par, including shooting a third-round 65.

On a course where short game and putting were crucial to success, it was certainly helpful for Kisner that he came into the week ranked 11th on Tour in Strokes Gained Putting.

With short game being important at St. Andrews this week, his success at the 2022 Open Championship should not be shocking to anyone.

Viktor Hovland

Hovland had a legitimate chance of winning this week, but the young Norwegian finished Sunday with a disappointing 3-over-par, 74.

We know that Hovland is one of the Tour’s brightest young stars and he ranks within the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings. However, Hovland hadn’t had a top-20 finish since May, with two missed cuts in between.

The young star needed a finish like this, competing in the lead group on the Sunday of a major alongside Rory McIlroy. 

Even at such a young age, Hovland still does not seem to get fazed by the big events stating:

"“Just to be here is very special, but to have a chance to win one is, yeah I have to pinch myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to hold back tomorrow. (Sunday)”"

If he can continue this strong play throughout the season, watch out for him during the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

We won’t see another big event until the Tour Championship in late August at East Lake GC in Atlanta, so each golfer will now return to their individual schedules for the next month and a half.

These select golfers who improved their stock at the Open Championship will be returning to their regular schedules on a high note, all while playing their best as they look to dominate during the closing stages of this season.